


House of Gold

by 1destielplease



Category: Twenty One Pilots, tøp
Genre: Dad!Josh, Death, Fluff, M/M, Parenthood, Teacher!Tyler, single dad
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-24
Updated: 2017-01-01
Packaged: 2018-08-16 23:51:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,764
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8122417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/1destielplease/pseuds/1destielplease
Summary: After the death of Josh Duns' brother, Jordan, he and his daughter, Kate, move away to Columbus. There, Josh meets the famous Tyler Joseph from Kate's elementary school.





	1. 1

Tyler wiped Kate's sticky fingers with wet wipes. Usually his kids would behave and the day would go on smoothly but sometimes there will be times where a little boy sticks gum in some girls’ hair or the chocolate pudding from snack time gets everywhere. Tyler loved his students, no matter the trouble, each of them were sweet and caring. Whenever Tyler had a bad day, he'd read the stories his students make for him and automatically he feels a lot better. There was one student by the name of Amy who wrote him a story about him being a prince and saving a princess from a bewitched tower and the only way to reach the top of the tower would be by eating super tomatoes. Super tomatoes are what Amy calls red superpower bumble gum. It was the cutest story he had ever read. Each year, fresh new faces appear in his classroom. He does get sadden by the fact his students grow up and can no longer participate in his class but at the same time he is proud and he loves his new students. He'd only been a kindergarten teacher for four years and he loved every single second.

 

 

The school year just started and one of the students already got glue all over her hands. Tyler smiles gently as Kate rubs her teary eyes with her glue-free hand and sniffles.

 

 

“You know, when I was a kid, I used to love making my mom silly pictures and cards. I used a whole bunch of glue and glitter to make her a birthday day. I used so much glitter that I was practically a glowing galaxy for a month!” Tyler said to Kate, trying to cheer her up. He relaxed as soon as he heard Kate's giggle escape her mouth.

 

“Where you purple, Mr.Joseph?” She giggled harder, imagining his teacher covered in purple glitter and glue.

 

Tyler let out a giggle of his own and nodded dramatically. “I was a purple monster! I would walk down the hallway and leave a trail of purple glitter behind me.”

 

Kate stopped crying and wiped her nose with her sleeve and nodded. Tyler finished cleaning her hands and smiled at her before taking her hands in his own and saying “Kate, it's okay. Use your creativity whenever you can, okay? If you use a little too much glue, that's okay.”

 

The little girl nodded and let her pink hair bouncing around her face.

 

Tyler had never seen any 5 year old with colored hair, he didn't know whether to applaud her parents or scowl at them for dying their daughters’ hair at such a young age. Out of the two weeks that she's been in school, she has wore outrageous outfits. The one she is wearing today, for example, was a blue tutu with black jeans underneath and a shirt that was probably a tad bit too big for her that said ‘Pink hurr, don't curr’.

 

“Come on, honey. Let's go help the rest of the class clean up from art and then we can have some reading time, okay?” Kate nodded and skipped along to help organize the glue and crayons. Tyler shook his head and made his way to the small collection of books he had on a book shelf and chose one to read for the class.

 

After reading time the day turned out quick and painless. Some days the kids liked to splatter finger paint on the desks and chairs and Tyler would scrub the paint out so the poor janitors’ wouldn't have to do all the work. But today, instead of scrubbing paint off the chairs, he was out and heading home by two thirty. Usually on days like this, he would spend it watching a movie or planning activities for the next day, but seeing that all his activities were planned for the rest of the week, and he rewatched all the movies he owns at least least twice, he figured he would go out and buy a new movie and maybe some take out.

 

-

 

“Daddy!” Kate yelled as soon as she got home. She let go of Debby’s hand and ran to her dad to engulf him in a big hug. “Princess! How was your day?” Josh asked as he twirled his laughing daughter. “It was good! Mr.Joseph is so nice. He told me he was a purple monster!” Josh chuckled at his daughter's’ silly comments and kissed her cheek lovingly. He turned towards Debby who was watching the whole scene before her with a smile and gave her a side hug while holding Kate.

 

“I really appreciate you doing this. I don't know what I would do without you” Josh said gratefully.

 

“Don't worry about it. I'm here to help, that's what friends are for, right? How's the house coming along?”

 

Josh brightened up at the mention of his home.

 

“Oh man, it's so good! I got the kitchen, the bathrooms and the rooms all ready to go, so this pumpkin-” josh poked Kate's belly and she laughed loudly “- can finally sleep in her own big girl room, now!”

 

Debby shook her head and smiled. “Well, it's looking great, how far long till you finish the living room?”

 

“Not much longer, actually. I think maybe if I work all day today, I'll be able to get the floors done and the walls so tomorrow morning I can start bringing in the furniture!”

 

Debby was glad to see Josh smile genuinely. It had been a while since he'd last been so proud of something or of himself for that matter.

 

“It's good to see you're doing better, Josh. Are you happy?” She asked gently as if approaching a hurt child.

 

Josh wrinkled his nose, thinking of a good response.

 

Was he truly happy?

 

Josh looked at his grinning daughter and smiled. “With her around, I'll never be sad.”

 

Debby, satisfied with his answer, nodded and waved goodbye as she walked to the door. “I'll come by to pick up Kate at eight! I'll drop her off too!”

 

“No! I can pick her up tomorrow! I think after tomorrow afternoon I'll be able to drop her off as well! Thanks Deb!” He called out.

 

Josh sighed, suddenly feeling how tired he really was and put Kate on the floor to stand.

 

“How about daddy makes us both some lunch, huh?”

 

Ever since Josh’s house burned down, thankfully not with Kate in it, Josh had zero motivation for anything. His brother, who lived with him and Kate, died during the fire. Josh shut down completely, he didn't eat, wouldn't come out of the guest bedroom in his mothers house and refused any human contact, unless it was his daughter, who would cry with him at night. Josh was very close to his brother, Jordan.

 

The night of the fire, Kate and Jordan were in the house, he was babysitting her while Josh brought home some groceries. When Josh got home, the house was completely engulfed in flames, making Josh's heart dropped to the floor.

 

The only thoughts running through his mind were Kate, Jordan, Kate, Jordan, Kate, Jordan, please be safe.

 

The ambulance were already working on putting out the flames and Josh tried to run inside but the cops held him back. He would yell for his daughter and brothers’ names, tears streaming down his eyes and into his cheeks rapidly.

 

“Daddy!” The sweetest word Josh had ever heard rang through his ears. He looked for the sound with a blurry sight and when his eyes fell upon his daughter, he had never felt such a relief. He ran to Kate, she was sat, crying inside an ambulance.

 

“Kate! I thought, I thought, oh god never do that again!” He yelled. He hugged her against his chest, tight, and now scanned for his brother around her.

 

“Kate, where's y-your uncle? Where's Jordan?” Josh's heart was beating ninety miles per hour.

 

“Daddy, uncle Jor is in the house” she hiccuped.

 

“Sweetie, I need you to stay right here, okay? I'm going to look for uncle Jor” Josh said crying pools again.

 

Kate nodded and sniffled. Josh ran as fast as he could to one of the firemen who was trying to put out the fire.

  
  
“Where's my brother? Where is my brother!” He yelled.

 

“Sir, I need you to calm down” the firemen said. He gestured to one of the cops to come over.

 

“Sir, please sit down and take deep breaths, we are going to get your brother out of the house, our firemen are inside right now trying to get him out.”

 

“You don't understand! He's my brother! I need to go inside to save him!” Josh yelled loudly. He tried to push away the cop but he only grabbed Josh harder.

 

“Sir, please. We are doing everything we can. You must stay calm, your brother will be fine” as soon as the cop said that, Josh's eyes traveled over to the front door of his burning house. Two firemen were carrying his brother. A brother who Josh barely recognized.

 

  
Josh shook his head at the thoughts and instead prepared Kate a sandwich for lunch.

 

“So, when do I get to meet Mr.Joseph?”

Debby had been such a help to Josh that she was the one to enroll Kate into her new school. Josh didn't move so far away but he now lives in Columbus, Ohio near Debby. He did not have any free time to check out his daughter’s new school or teachers.

 

“Mr.Joseph stays when the sun hides. He writes on my paper with green markers. You can see him tomorrow” she said happily as she chewed on her sandwich.

 

 

 


	2. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Josh cannot believe he is late to pick up Kate from school.

“Alright sweetie, your daddy is going to come pick you up later, okay?” Debby said sweetly.

“Yay! Daddy can take me out for ice cream too?”

“ I'm sure he can” Debby smiled at Kate. She wrapped her arms around the small girl and gave her a tiny kiss on the head. “Behave” she said.

Kate nodded and skipped toward Tyler, who was watching from a distance. He waved at Debby before she left his classroom and looked down at Kate.

Today, Kate wore a green sweater with an alien on it, black jeans, and a green cap that was placed backwards on her head, covering her curly pink locks.

“I drew you a picture Mr.Joseph!” Kate said while stuffing her hands into her superman backpack. Tyler smiled gently and pretended to be shocked. “What? For me? You drew me a picture? I am so honored Kate!”

Kate pulled out a drawing and held it up to Tyler’s face. The picture was a giant purple, glittery glob with another red giant glittery glob. In the corner there was a pink triangle with a head and curly pink hair. Tyler had a pretty good guess that the little girl in the picture was Kate.

“It's you and my daddy! I'm the one back here, see? You are a purple glitter monster and daddy is a red glitter monster. Wanna know a secret? Daddy loves the color red and he used to put makeup on and make his eyes all red to look tough. My daddy's tough. He has tattoos of trees and swirls and stuff!”

Tyler’s heart warmed at the sight in front of him. “Kate, this is so beautiful! I love it! Tell your daddy it's okay to be a tough softie. I'm going to hang it on my fridge at home, okay? Thank you Kate!” Kate smiled proudly and puffed up her chest as if to show Tyler that she is tough too. Out of all the kids he's taught the past few years, Kate Dun was the sweetest most creative girl he's ever met.

Tyler wonders if he gets it from his mom or dad? What was her mom’s name again? Debby?

As soon as class began, everyone took their seats and waited for Tyler to begin class.

“Today, we are going to practice our A, b, c’s by reading a book! I know all of you already know your A,B,C’s but we have to practice to make it better, okay?” Tyler read the book and everyone in class gave him their full attention, mesmerized by the way Tyler changed his voice to sound like Oscar from Sesame Street.

 

-

After adding the finishing touches to the living room wall, Josh wiped his forehead with the back of his hand and sighed. He finally finished decorating his new house.

He looked proudly at the walls in front of him and grinned. Now that he finished his job on the house, he can get back to his job as a cop. Transferring units to Columbus wasn't so hard but it will take time to get used to everything. His new job, his new house, his new life. The one thing he really needed was his brother. There was no way to bring back his brother and he knew that but sometimes he swears he could feel him in the atmosphere, almost like Jordan is checking over them.

Josh’s phone started raining and he picked it up to the sound of a very enthusiastic mother.

“Josh! When will we get to see the new house?”

“Hellooooo to you too mom. You'll get to see it when everything is finished. Right now I finished all the hardest things, the painting the the floors, the plumbing, now all that's left is actually furnishing the house”

“My multitalented son, I'm so proud. How're you doing?”

And just like that, Josh was on the phone with his mom for two hours. Time flew by so quick that Josh didn't notice the time was already at 2:15pm.

“Oh my gosh, mom, mom let me call you back later! I had to pick Kate up ten minutes ago! Yes, yes, I love you too, bye” Josh stuffed his phone in his pocket and dashed to grab his keys. What a great first impression he is going to make to Kate's teacher the first time he sees him. He's already late, what could be worse?

Being a cop comes in handy sometimes. For example, a cop can get free donuts, they get discounts at fast food restaurants, but most importantly, they can speed. Josh was going above the speed limit to pick up Kate from school, he didn't want to make Kate’s teacher think he was an irresponsible dad. He turned on his lights so cars would move out of the way as he sped down the freeway. Eventually, Josh got there at exactly 2:25pm, getting there in just ten minutes. He huffed out a breath and unbelted his belt before bolting out of his cop car.

Josh scanned the school wearily, he wasn't the one who enrolled Kate. Debby was.

Josh had no idea where Kate's classroom was. He sighed and made his way to the front office where he asked a nice lady if she knew where Kate Dun’s teacher was.

“Oh! Kate Dun, I know her. She’s with Mr.Joseph in room 145” she said cheerfully. Her blue eyes sparking with kindness at Josh.

“Thank you” Josh said politely. He scanned the numbers on each room, not sure if they were in order.

 

125, 130, 135, 140

It didn't take Josh long to realize the numbers were going by 5’s. He stopped in front of a classroom where next to the door, in the wall, were handprints with names on pieces of paper scattered all over. He smiled as he saw Kate’s messy handprint.

He slowly went inside the room and he soon felt guilt as he saw no one in the room besides Kate and her teacher. All the kids had gone home and she was the last one to go because Josh had completely forgotten that he had to pick up his own daughter from school. Kates teacher had his back towards Josh, but Kate was happily munching on a rice crispy and a juice box. As soon as Kate saw Josh, she grinned and left the snacks forgotten on the table and ran to her daddy.

“Daddy! You came!” She held her hands up and Josh carried her. “Of course I did! You wouldn't think I'd leave you, right?” She shook her head and hugged him tighter.

Tyler turned when he heard Kate yell and turned to look who had come in.

To his surprise, Kate's dad was pleasantly attractive. Though, that was NOT how Tyler imagined him. Debby seemed so strictly professional. She looked like she could be a lawyer. Whereas Josh, he just looked like he belonged in a band. He was hot and Tyler wasn't complaining.

“Hi! I'm Joshua Dun, Kate's father. I am so sorry that I'm late, I lost track of time and-”

“Don't worry about it Mr.Dun. You're actually early. I'm not supposed to leave here until 2:30pm so you are-” his eyes trailed to the clock in front of his classroom and chuckled lowly “2 minutes early.”

Josh laughed and smiled. One thing Kate failed to mention about her teacher was that he was cute. Though he did not want her daughter to think those things but Debby could've warned him.

“Well thank you for making me feel better. I didn't want you to get the wrong impression of me. My friend Debby Ryan has been dropping and picking up Kate the past few weeks. I've been busy fixing up our new home and she's been a great help. Now that I have some time on my hands, I can pick her up and drop her off on my own” Josh said while tickling Kate's tummy.

Tyler mentally did a victory dance when Josh said Debby was his friend.

_Still, he could be married._

_Shut up, he's not wearing a ring._

_That doesn't mean he doesn't have a girlfriend._

Tyler shook his head from his own thoughts and smiled kindly at Josh.

“Don't worry about it. It's nice to meet you, Mr.Dun”

“Can me Josh. Mr.Dun makes me feel old”

“As long as you call me Tyler”

“Tyler!” Tyler laughed when Kate said his name loudly. “Yes honey, my name is Tyler. But only call me that after school, okay? In school I'm Mr.Joseph” he said sweetly.

Josh thought if it were possible, he'd melt right then and there.

“I should get going, I have to make Kate some lunch and make some phone calls to work” Josh said while resting Kate on his hip and grabbing her backpack with his free hand.

“It was nice meeting you, I guess I'll be seeing you often?”

“Definitely”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yOU GUUUUUYS you're support is so overwhelming. I'm so glad you guys are liking my story so far! Hopefully I can make you proud aha! Here's another chapter just fornyou, hope you liked it. Again sorry for mistakes, I'm still trying to find a beta.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Josh found Kate in a box. It broke his heart to see how harsh and heartless a person can be enough to leave a little baby out in the streets in cold and wet weather.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am truly sorry for not updating sooner! Testing has been terrible the past few months, with college applications coming up, there was no room for writing or updating! I would like to truly give thanks to equifish here on Ao3 for helping me correct mistakes! Im going to try to update more often now that i'll be starting second semester soon! I hope you lot have a great day AND HAPPY NEW YEARS! Hopefully this year will be better for us all! Have a fantastic day! And thank you truly for your amazing support, it means a lot to me!!!!

  Josh got up earlier than usual. Today was his first day back at work and he wanted to make sure his little girl had breakfast before he drops her off to school. All night Josh had been thinking about Kate's cute teacher. Mr.Joseph, well, Tyler. He liked Tyler's smile and he found himself wanting to be the reason he smiles. Josh hadn't had a relationship since his last boyfriend, Brendon. Brendon was a great guy but he didn't want to settle down with Josh, he told Josh he wanted to ‘have fun while he still can.’

  Josh respected his decision and they both parted ways. His attention mainly on work, until he met Kate. He found Kate, actually. Most people look at Josh and think how young and naive he is for having a daughter, he was only 25 and had a 6 year old daughter. Josh was walking home from when he used to major in criminal justice in college when he found Kate in a dirty alleyway. She was in a box, the box was wide open, wet, and dirty. Kate was in it, she had just a diaper on and was crying uncontrollably from the cold air brushing her soft skin. It was the beginning of autumn. Ants made their way to her chubby legs and bit her, she cried from discomfort and she cried from being cold. Josh's heart swelled in his chest, he couldn't believe someone would just leave a baby with nothing to protect her from the cold out in the streets. After months and months of paper work, and due to him having a stable job and a house that he shared with his brother, Josh was able to adopt Kate. He took care of her. He couldn't leave Kate on the streets, he couldn't even leave her in an orphanage.

 The minute he carried her from the box on the floor, her crying stopped. She cuddled into Josh's chest and stayed still, embracing the warmth of his body. Josh carefully took off his jacket and wrapped the baby in it before heading home. He told Jordan that he had a connection to her, that it was fate. He loved the baby like it was his own daughter. Jordan didn't question it, instead he told Josh that he had his support.

 

  His entire life was devoted to Kate and everyone knew it. He never went out to parties, never grabbed a drink with his college friends, and was never interested in a relationship. He didn't need a relationship when all he needed was his family and his daughter. He raised her to believe that it's okay to be different, that it's okay to wear weird colors and put on spray on hair dye. He needed her to believe in herself as much as he believed in her. Kate was Josh's entire world, he wasn't sure if he was ready to let someone be a part of that world just yet.

 He wasn't even sure if Tyler liked guys or was in a committed relationship. All he knew was that he liked Tyler and he thought Tyler's smile could light up a room. Josh put on his ‘best dad’ apron and began cooking up breakfast for both him and little Kate. Hopefully he would be back on time from work to pick her up and drop her off Debby's house for a few hours before coming back home to make her dinner and put her to bed. The only thing he didn't like about his job was that he didn't get to see Kate as much as he'd like too. He'd miss an entire afternoon with her because he would be chasing speeding cars and arresting local drunks or murderers that appear once in awhile.

 

 “Mornin’ daddy” Kate yawned. Her hair was everywhere. She washed off the spray dye from her hair last night so all that was left were blonde curly locks that were everywhere. “Morning, pumpkin! How'd you sleep last night?”

 

  Kate grinned and told Josh all about her awesome dream with rainbows and pizza. Josh smiled through everything she said and paid special attention to the details of her dream. Kate's imagination and creativity always amazed him.

 

 “Today daddy's going to work. Is it okay if you go to Debby’s house for a little bit?”

 

 “Yes daddy, Debby has cute kitties! She lets me pet them and give them kitty food!” Josh laughed and nodded. He loved Debby's cats too.

 

  “Okay, princess. Time to get ready for school. What color do you want you hair to be today?”

 

-

 

 Tyler groggily groaned and smacked his alarm clock, sending it to the ground with a loud thud.

 

 “Stupid mornings” he muttered under the warm blankets. He tossed the blanket aside and swung his long legs over the edge of his bed. He hissed when his bare feet touched the cold ground. Tyler's mornings weren't very pleasant. He hated morning. He hated waking up at the ass crack of dawn. Tyler would have a hot shower, brush his teeth, dress, and make his hair sort of presentable. He would brew some coffee and make eggs with toast and bacon. Then he would quietly read a book while he eats his breakfast. By 7:05 in the morning, he was out the door with all his materials, car keys in hand, and to go coffee in the other hand. That was his usual morning. Nothing special, he would say. Tyler hasn't woken up next to anyone since his last relationship with a girl named Jenna. She was sweet and kind, but they both came to a conclusion that it was just not going to work out. He liked her a lot, loved her maybe, it hurt him but he knew they needed to leave if they wanted to continue on with their careers. They both worked for the same school, only she was a receptionist. Tyler promised her they'd stay friends, and true to his word, they're best friends now.He loves her, as a friend. That was why the relationship didn't work out. They figured their love for each other was platonic. Now she is happily married and comes to visit Tyler occasionally. They're best friends.

 

To Tyler's honesty, he missed waking up next to someone and wrapping his arms around them to warm them up from the cold nights.

 

  He missed making breakfast for not one, but two people. He missed soft touches, and kisses. But he didn't miss them with Jenna, he missed them in general.

 

  He missed them from Josh.

 

_What are you even saying? You've never even dated him!_

 

_Shut up._

 

  Tyler shook his head and opened the door to his car. He always looked forward to teaching his kids at school. He just loved kids.

 

  He was excited to review the topic of different fishes in the sea with the kids today. That and seeing Josh. Out of the years he has been teaching, he had never felt attracted to any parent before. Sure, there were some hot single dads, but Josh, there was something about him that Tyler just couldn't put into words.

 

Tyler was silently praying that Josh would come drop off Kate and stay for a bit to talk. He wanted to get to know Josh. He wanted to ask him what he did for a living, what his hobbies are, what's his favorite foo-

 

_Woah, what is this? A date?_

 

_Shut up._

 

  Tyler tried to not let himself get crushed because they always end badly. Sure he has been on a few dates here and there, some girls were really nice, the guys were gentlemen but he just didn't see a future with them. He was at an age where he was ready to settle down and maybe start a real life with someone he really cares about and feels love for.

 

  Tyler physically shook his head and continued printing out sheets with pictures of fishes on them for the kids to color on.

 

  Ten minutes after, Tyler was biting his lip as an angry mom yelled at him. Apparently her daughter, Melissa, had gotten gum stuck in her hair and she was angry that she wasn't warned by the incident. He forwarded away from her booming voice and turned to look at Melissa who had her thumb in her mouth, ready to cry because she did not like seeing her mom yell at her favorite teacher.

 

  “I am so sorry ma'am, I should've been more cautious, next time I'll make sure to check and call. Please forgive me, is there anything I can do for you?” The mom glared at Tyler.

 

  “Yes, there is actually. I need the main offices number, I'm going to call and get Melissa switched from this class!”

 

   “Mommy no! I like Mr.Joseph!” Melissa's mom pulled her daughter away and out the classroom, obviously not letting Melissa attend class for the day. Tyler let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and wiped his brow. He was sweating from nerves.

 

  “Phew, quite the angry mom you got there” Tyler quickly stopped slumping against the wall and looked straight at Josh.

 

  “Yeah. It was my fault, I should've known better” Josh frowned and looked at Tyler with big eyes.

 

  “You're kidding right? I can't imagine what it's like chasing these kids everywhere! It's okay to make mistakes, you're a wonderful teacher”

 

  Tyler smiled at josh and nodded shot before clearing his theist and moving towards the sign up log. “You can sign here, and this little ball of sunshine can stay here with meeeee!” Tyler sing-songed as he tickled Kate who laughed loudly. Josh grin was so big that Tyler could see his deep dimples. All his worries were long gone, no trace of an angry mom anywhere.

**Author's Note:**

> Well here's my first Joshler fic. I'm sorry if there are any mistakes, I don't have a beta at the moment.


End file.
